First lady Michelle Obama has responded to conservative criticism over her Academy Awards appearance, saying it was “absolutely not surprising” that her participation in the ceremony set off a national conversation. 

On February 24, Obama made a surprise appearance via satellite at the 85th Academy Awards where she helped announce the Best Picture Oscar winner. Academy officials invited the first lady to take part in the presentation. 

Following the first lady's appearance, right-wing media falsely suggested that her participation was unprecedented, ignoring that former presidents and former first lady Laura Bush had previously participated in the ceremony. Right-wing media also smeared Obama, calling her appearance “obscene” and claiming she made the ceremony about her. 

Obama responded to that criticism on Thursday, saying it was “absolutely not surprising.” From the Associated Press:

Michelle Obama says it was “absolutely not surprising” to her that her satellite appearance at the Academy Awards ceremony provoked a national conversation about whether it was appropriate, after some conservative critics accused her of selfishly crashing the event in an attempt to upstage it.

She attributed the chatter to a culture shift that has spawned legions of bloggers, tweeters and others who talk about anything and everything all the time.

“Shoot, my bangs set off a national conversation. My shoes can set off a national conversation. That's just sort of where we are. We've got a lot of talking going on,” the first lady said only somewhat jokingly Thursday before an appearance in Chicago, her hometown. “It's like everybody's kitchen-table conversation is now accessible to everybody else so there's a national conversation about anything.”